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If you maintain your e46 correctly, care for it, and don't drive it like it is stolen, your car will love you for it. it wont cost you a bunch of money if you treat it like a bmw, and dont treat it like a honda (cutting corners, ect) i'm not insinuating you're doing that, but thats just my 2 cents

This has bothered me since I read it a couple days ago. A well built machine or tool should be able to handle how you use it.

"Treat it like a BMW," that's the line that that's been getting to me the most. I've been modifying, breaking, learning why it broke, and modifying again since I was 15. I'm at a time in life right now where I don't have the time or patience to sit under a hood or fender for hours tinkering. My decision to get an E46, specifically one with the ZHP package is because I wanted a car that would be taken seriously universally but would also deliver as much performance/$ from the factory floor as I could afford.

I needed a car that was well built and felt solid, but not so much that I had to navigate around slight imperfections in the road as cars I've owned before. I needed a car that had a reputation for reliability as well as a well populated community in case something did go wrong. The 330Ci ZHP made sense until things started to go awry. It wasn't like that car wasn't well kept, I have service records showing the opposite....

In short, when you buy a Snap-on tool you don't "Treat it like a Snap-on." You use it how you would use any other tool, but expect it to be better since that's what you're paying for, the quality and better build.

Golf, it is virtually always cheaper to upkeep an older car than buy a similar new car, even if you have to put in thousands worth of maintenance in one month. So if you spend $400 putting in a new cooling system, it will likely last 5 years. That turns out to be $7/month.

I have put in almost $10k in maintenance and repairs in my car and the total amortized expense works out to be less than $300/month. That is maintenance and repair plus depreciation. A new 328 will be in the $500-600 expense/month area. There is a difference between monthly expense and car payments/cash outlay.

I have been struggling with this as my 2002 has been visiting the doctor more and more. I look on KBB and see that the whole car is probably worth $7000 or so. So it FEELS like I'm stupid if I throw $1000, 2000, etc into new issues. I guess it depends on whether you're willing to keep the car for more years or not. Obviously if you're about ready to throw in the towel in 9 months anyway, then you're never going to recoup that investment. But if you buy a "new car" then yes you are avoiding the maintenance for several years, but you are riding down the depreciation curve much faster! Probably easily thousands of dollars per year in Depr. A 10 yr old car is not depreciating that fast (if it was, it would be worth nothing by now!). So the depreciation curve flattens out near the end. Then you're just at the mercy of luck and maintenance gremlins, and crossing fingers that you don't need to spend 3500 for a transmission, etc. Although still, if that allowed you to drive same car for another 5 years it would be worth it.

Unfortunately I have found myself surfing the net for TOYOTA CAMRY of all things ........just a symptom of telling myself that I want a car that just runs....without all the drama.......probably an overreaction but I don't feel like shelling out $40 large for a new 3 series because all the drama will present itself 5-6 years from now anyway.....window regulators, cv joints, this, that and the other thing.

I felt like getting rid of my car this morning. But overall the car and its hiccups r worth it. Its a superior car. All cars have issues but when the kinks r worked out it prrs and its worth it. So ill keep it

I'm very frustrated with my 318Ci... but just because of the 1.8lt m43 engine's lack of power. Other than that, I LOVE my car!! It's the first car I bought with my own cash and not my parents'. I can get an M3 if my parents would buy one for me, but I just think that owning/buying it yourself gives so much more satisfaction regardless of the performance.
I LOVE MY E46!!!!!!!!!

I have not had mine long and I do get sick of constantly worrying about potential issues, though I try not to think about it so much. Honestly, reading through these forums does not help.
I owned a 99' honda civic before my 2000 E46 and surprisingly, it was no more reliable than the bimmer, though its parts were much more affordable.

I wish I had done more research before purchasing my bimmer. I probably would have bought a 6 cyl. Lexus GS or an Infiniti G35.

The a/c compressors on every honda I've ever owned have failed despite proper maintenance. Honda's automatic transmissions between the 97' and 2005' model years are notorious for failures (though it appears some bimmer's are too).

Keep the bimmer if you can afford the parts and perform some of the maintenance yourself.

I have not had mine long and I do get sick of constantly worrying about potential issues, though I try not to think about it so much. Honestly, reading through these forums does not help.
I owned a 99' honda civic before my 2000 E46 and surprisingly, it was no more reliable than the bimmer, though its parts were much more affordable.

I wish I had done more research before purchasing my bimmer. I probably would have bought a 6 cyl. Lexus GS or an Infiniti G35.

The a/c compressors on every honda I've ever owned have failed despite proper maintenance. Honda's automatic transmissions between the 97' and 2005' model years are notorious for failures (though it appears some bimmer's are too).

Keep the bimmer if you can afford the parts and perform some of the maintenance yourself.

interesting. I have to say when I was only earning 60-70k yr I never figured I could afford to own a BMW due to the
maintenance issues. I wanted one back then but it felt like a bad financial move to make on a subsistence budget. On 100k+ an e46 is fine, whether you maintain it yourself or not. I now do my own maintenance, but that is only possible with a garage- something else I couldn't afford back then.

This has bothered me since I read it a couple days ago. A well built machine or tool should be able to handle how you use it.

"Treat it like a BMW," that's the line that that's been getting to me the most. I've been modifying, breaking, learning why it broke, and modifying again since I was 15. I'm at a time in life right now where I don't have the time or patience to sit under a hood or fender for hours tinkering. My decision to get an E46, specifically one with the ZHP package is because I wanted a car that would be taken seriously universally but would also deliver as much performance/$ from the factory floor as I could afford.

I needed a car that was well built and felt solid, but not so much that I had to navigate around slight imperfections in the road as cars I've owned before. I needed a car that had a reputation for reliability as well as a well populated community in case something did go wrong. The 330Ci ZHP made sense until things started to go awry. It wasn't like that car wasn't well kept, I have service records showing the opposite....

In short, when you buy a Snap-on tool you don't "Treat it like a Snap-on." You use it how you would use any other tool, but expect it to be better since that's what you're paying for, the quality and better build.

BMWs can take more beating then other cars, maybe, to a certain degree. You can't expect it to be something that is just other-worldly, just because you paid extra for some sweet German engineering

I wasn't trying to say if you must baby your car like i do, i was saying if you don't drive it like a teenager every where you go, and treat it like a car instead of a racecar, you'll dodge costly repair bills in the long run. just cause its a bmw doesnt mean you can drive it hard all the time and expect it to not come back to haunt you.

if you bought a snap on tool, and were working underneath your car, you would set the tool down before you reach for another one, correct? As in the way if you bought any other kind of tool and were in the same situation, you might slightly toss it or not as gently set it down.

interesting. I have to say when I was only earning 60-70k yr I never figured I could afford to own a BMW due to the
maintenance issues. I wanted one back then but it felt like a bad financial move to make on a subsistence budget. On 100k+ an e46 is fine, whether you maintain it yourself or not. I now do my own maintenance, but that is only possible with a garage- something else I couldn't afford back then.

Regardless of one's income, BMWs are not cheap to maintain. I am single and some might call me mechanically inclined, so my "subsistence" budget is not so much of an issue.

Am I missing something OP? You're fed up that you've had to pay for oil AND car washes? Blame zee Germans.

I've had my car for a year now, and never had a single issue that any other car on the road could avoid. By that I mean I've had to replace wear items like rotors, pads, and bushings, and fluids like transmission, oil, diff, etc. I will be doing the rest of the suspension setup soon, after all, it is an 11 year old car with 105k miles (however, the original suspension is still doing surprisingly well) I also replaced the expansion tank for peace of mind. That's pretty much it. Perhaps I'm just lucky to have purchased a well-maintained car from a knowledgeable owner, but this seems like a pretty well put together platform in general.

Any car will have maintenance - a BMW of course will be a bit more expensive to maintain, but thats just the nature of the beast - and surely you knew that going in?

BMWs can take more beating then other cars, maybe, to a certain degree. You can't expect it to be something that is just other-worldly, just because you paid extra for some sweet German engineering

I wasn't trying to say if you must baby your car like i do, i was saying if you don't drive it like a teenager every where you go, and treat it like a car instead of a racecar, you'll dodge costly repair bills in the long run. just cause its a bmw doesnt mean you can drive it hard all the time and expect it to not come back to haunt you.

if you bought a snap on tool, and were working underneath your car, you would set the tool down before you reach for another one, correct? As in the way if you bought any other kind of tool and were in the same situation, you might slightly toss it or not as gently set it down.

I haven't found where this car is better engineered at yet, but I do find many failures. Even the engine is relatively inefficient; 235HP / 27 HWY MPG... the Japanese were doing this in the mid and early 90's with their 3.0s (Supra/300ZX). A plastic ball for a pivot point in the shifter, the placement of the shifter/cupholder/armrest, and the response of the drive by wire to the pedal position. This is nit picky I know and there are other cars with similar nuances, my ex-gf Pontiac G5 for instance, it's just that I expected so much more.

I figured these weren't just 235 horses, these were 235 GERMAN horses! German horse are applied to the ground a lot more efficiently and effectively because that's just how they're bred! Yet they just feel so lax, apathetic even. It's not that I expected it to be other worldly, just that I expected it to be relatively better and it just isn't.

I would treat every tool the same and expect it to fulfill it's purpose. If I bought a Snap-on impact gun over a Stanley I would do so expecting it to be of better build quality. I'd expect it to work better, last longer, and break less. I'd understand that IF something did go wrong with it that I would have to pay more because of the quality, not because it's accepted to pay more.

BMW isn't Ferrari. Ferraris I expect to break or randomly catch on fire just because it sat to long at a stop light. I would gladly pay Ferrari prices still because I'm not buying the car with an expectations other than it delivers a passionate experience in everything it is; it's color, the movement of it's needles, it's shape, it's sounds.... everything. Ferrari would like people to consider it's car reliable, but the buyer is less concerned with that than they are about how fast it is and how it looks; they are engineered for passion!

BMWs, to me, are supposed to be engineered to be sensible, smart, exact, driven street cars for sensible, smart, exact, driven people. My E46, and subsequent research consequential to the owner ship of, has tainted that image horribly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solidjake

A mod or two will make you guys happier

I thought about that too, but for where I want to be power wise it it would be more cost effective to get an ///M.

I haven't found where this car is better engineered at yet, but I do find many failures. Even the engine is relatively inefficient; 235HP / 27 HWY MPG... the Japanese were doing this in the mid and early 90's with their 3.0s (Supra/300ZX). A plastic ball for a pivot point in the shifter, the placement of the shifter/cupholder/armrest, and the response of the drive by wire to the pedal position. This is nit picky I know and there are other cars with similar nuances, my ex-gf Pontiac G5 for instance, it's just that I expected so much more.

I figured these weren't just 235 horses, these were 235 GERMAN horses! German horse are applied to the ground a lot more efficiently and effectively because that's just how they're bred! Yet they just feel so lax, apathetic even. It's not that I expected it to be other worldly, just that I expected it to be relatively better and it just isn't.

I would treat every tool the same and expect it to fulfill it's purpose. If I bought a Snap-on impact gun over a Stanley I would do so expecting it to be of better build quality. I'd expect it to work better, last longer, and break less. I'd understand that IF something did go wrong with it that I would have to pay more because of the quality, not because it's accepted to pay more.

BMW isn't Ferrari. Ferraris I expect to break or randomly catch on fire just because it sat to long at a stop light. I would gladly pay Ferrari prices still because I'm not buying the car with an expectations other than it delivers a passionate experience in everything it is; it's color, the movement of it's needles, it's shape, it's sounds.... everything. Ferrari would like people to consider it's car reliable, but the buyer is less concerned with that than they are about how fast it is and how it looks; they are engineered for passion!

BMWs, to me, are supposed to be engineered to be sensible, smart, exact, driven street cars for sensible, smart, exact, driven people. My E46, and subsequent research consequential to the owner ship of, has tainted that image horribly.

I thought about that too, but for where I want to be power wise it it would be more cost effective to get an ///M.

I've owned cars that had more power (and torque) and less weight than my bimmer but were considerably slower. I believe in the Kraut horse legend